Article excerpt

CAIRO -- Egyptian authorities installed an interim president
Thursday and ordered the arrests of senior leaders of the Muslim
Brotherhood, hours after the nation's all-powerful military ousted
Mohammed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected leader.

The Egyptian armed forces were quick to put a civilian face on
what their opponents have labeled a coup. But the swift moves
against the military's longtime nemesis, the Morsi-allied
Brotherhood, suggest that the nation's generals are in no mood to
reconcile with an Islamist group that until Wednesday had
effectively controlled Egypt's highest office for a year.

Authorities operating under the military's protection swept up
Morsi associates in a flurry of arrests and warrants, placing the
Brotherhood even further on the defensive.

Brotherhood-allied leaders responded by calling for a "day of
resistance" today, with nationwide protests planned after the
traditional midday prayers. Although organizers called on supporters
to remain peaceful, such rallies in the past have led to deadly
clashes, and residents of Cairo and other areas braced for more
chaos.

Egypt's new president, a virtual unknown named Adli Mansour,
vowed to include all sections of society, including Islamists, in an
interim coalition government shortly after he was sworn in Thursday.
But even as he spoke, an arrest warrant was issued for Mohammed
Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood's "supreme guide."

An arrest warrant also was issued for Khairat al-Shater, a
wealthy businessman who serves as Mr. Badie's deputy and was widely
seen as one of the real powers behind the Morsi presidency.

Mr. Morsi and his top aides were placed under house arrest at a
military residence. At least three other Brotherhood officials were
taken into custody.

In a statement late Wednesday, President Barack Obama had urged
the Egyptian military "to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President
Morsi and his supporters." But with the crackdown against the
Brotherhood underway and with several pro-Islamist media outlets
shuttered, many Egyptians feared a new cycle of retribution and
repression.

The moves against Mr. Morsi and his closest allies represent a
dramatic fall for the Muslim Brotherhood, which spent more than 80
years in brutally repressed opposition under successive Egyptian
military autocrats, only to see their hold on the presidency end
after 368 days.

Mr. Morsi's ouster cheered millions of Egyptians who had grown
frustrated with his failure to address the country's debilitating
economic woes and his apparent efforts to consolidate power for the
Muslim Brotherhood. Mass demonstrations in recent days helped
precipitate the military's move to remove him from office.

Mr. Morsi's Brotherhood backers must now decide how to respond.
The group is vastly outgunned by the military, one of the most
powerful in the Middle East. …